Pittsburgh Penguins: Another Late-Night Matchup Against the Los Angeles Kings

Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins wrap up their West Coast trip with a game against the Los Angeles Kings. In their previous game, the Pens lost in a shootout to the San Jose Sharks.

If you are like me, you try not to get too worked up about regular season games, whether they are good or bad. Watching each and every game means you will always find some things on either side of the coin, though.

On the bad side, Ben Lovejoy's wrist is broken. That will sideline him for around four to six weeks.

On the positive side, the first-period game the Penguins play should make any team quake in their boots.

But sadly for them, hockey games are 60 (or more) minutes, and the Sharks remembered that they too are a pretty good hockey team.

Tonight's game with the Kings should be another good one. And for most of us, we will not be tired tomorrow with the clocks "falling behind" and not having to work tomorrow.

New Defensemen

Alex Picard did not play against the Sharks, but with Lovejoy out, he will most likely be in tonight. Another defenseman, Robert Bortuzzo from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, will probably play as well.

Bortuzzo is the more exciting of the two, in my opinion, because he is 22-years-old and would be inserted in to his first NHL game. That seems to have a fair chance of happening after Paul Martin was reportedly not at today's morning skate.

Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Letestu

Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Letestu were the toast of the in-depth Penguins fan last season. They both stepped up and filled important roles with key players out.

Jeffrey is still getting back to speed while recovering from an injury, and Letestu got off to a poor start this season. The past is the past in both senses for these guys. It would help for them to chip in a goal here and there and otherwise make the most of their minutes.

Evgeni Malkin

Evgeni Malkin was very noticeable against the Sharks, aside from his two goals. The only other time this season he looked that strong on his skates was the season opener against Vancouver.

Even better was the fact that Malkin played a strong, aggressive game and managed to avoid bad penalties. If he plays at this level every night, he will get his name back up towards the top of the NHL scoring race in no time.

Steve Sullivan

He racked up assists against the Sharks, will tonight be the night Steve Sullivan scores his first goal?

I hope so, because I vow to keep highlighting his good play until he nets his first as a Pen.

Leadership

Be prepared, Pens fans. Tonight we get re-introduced to the guy that broke the mold of Leadership. Mike "Leadership" Richards was traded to the Kings in the offseason.

He has 10 points and two goals so far with LA. Leadership.